A RED hot hatch with a super cool image is Audi's latest addition to its RS quattro stable of high performance models.

The RS 3 will be hitting the streets in the next couple of weeks and already it's a sell out.

Just 500 right hand drive versions are being produced for Britain - and we have just put the first of those through its paces on the roads where the legendary quattro was born.

Back in 1978 a development team which included the current VW Group supremo Dr Ferdinand Piech used the mountain hairpins at the Turracher Hohe in southern Austria to show Audi bosses the effectiveness of the all-wheel-drive system.

It impressed, the project was given the green light and the rest - as they say - is history.

True to form the latest incarnation uses a 2.5-litre five cylinder diesel engine which gave the original quattro such a distinctive sound.

Fire up this quattro and there is no doubt it is potent just from the burble from the twin exhausts.

The RS 3 uses a turbocharger to get 340PS from the engine resulting in 0 to 60 acceleration of 4.5 seconds and a top speed restricted at 155mph - quick in anyone's book.

Mated to a seven-speed semi automatic DSG gearbox the RS 3 is fitted with steering wheel mounted paddles for manual changes - and that's how to get the best from the car.

The gearbox is multi-mode and in automatic the RS 3 is fine in traffic. Sport mode changes the length of the ratios but on the mountain in Austria the car excelled in manual mode.

Push a master switch on the dash to initiate uprated ride characteristics and throttle mapping and the RS 3 comes to life in brutal fashion.

Although very precise the steering is on the light side and the car swoops through bends clinging to the road with a delightful degree of certainty.

Gear changes are rapid and there is a smashing growl on the over-run.

The ride is not as abrupt as that of its key rival, the BMW 1-Series M Coupe, and in a way the RS 3 experience is more refined.

While the BMW demands to be driven enthusiastically, the Audi is more of a car for any occasion which adds to its street cred.

Be gentle and it can average more than 30 to the gallon, although its emissions of 212 g/km put it in a high tax bracket.

At £39,930 it's also a couple of thousand pounds cheaper than the new BMW M machine - and the Audi comes almost fully kitted with sat nav, music player hook up and bespoke RS trim.

Extras on the car we tried included cruise control, adaptive headlights and a BOSE sound system pushing up the price to £42,680.

As such the RS is the flagship of Audi's A3 range and while it looks the part from the front with LED running lights, air dams and a pronounced grille, from the back it's rather conservative.

Apart from subtle badging and stand out features such as black and red alloy wheels with large brake callipers there is not a lot to convey the muscle the car possesses.

Neither is the instrumentation that much different to that of any high grade A3 - although being a Sportback there's five doors, room in the back and a sensible boot.

As well as the BMW's M models, Audi is pitching the RS 3 at the Mercedes C63 AMG but it is not quite in that league.

The RS 3 is much more about exploring the limits of hot hatch motoring - which probably explains why the 500 which will be coming to the UK were snapped up by the quattro fans months ago.

As and when they make it out on to the second hand market there's going to be quite a queue.